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6.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Vlastelin byta remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for weird, forgotten Soviet-era fables that feel like they were made in a different dimension, then yeah, sure, watch it. If you need pacing, clear stakes, or modern acting, you’re going to be bored to tears within ten minutes. This isn't a movie for people who want to be entertained; it’s for people who like to collect strange cinematic bruises. 🎬
N. Bravin is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, mostly by just looking incredibly tired. There's a specific scene where he’s just staring at a teapot, and it lasts way, way too long. I think I actually checked my watch twice, but somehow I didn't turn it off.
The whole thing has this weird, oppressive feeling, like a room that hasn’t been aired out in a decade. It’s not necessarily "bad" filmmaking, but it’s definitely suffocating. You can feel the directors, Aleksandr Ptushko and Nikolai Renkov, pushing this moral lesson so hard that it almost breaks the screen.
It reminded me a little bit of the strange, disjointed energy in Vodovorot, though this one feels even more trapped in its own head. There’s no room to breathe.
There is this moment where the set design just gets completely out of control. It’s like they piled every prop they could find into one room, and it looks less like a movie set and more like a hoarding situation. 🏚️
I kept waiting for the movie to have some kind of *aha!* moment, but it just sort of ends. It doesn't really resolve, it just stops. Which, honestly? Kind of refreshing, in a weird way. It’s definitely not as smooth as The Honor System, which at least pretends to know where it's going.
Don't go in expecting a masterpiece. It's just a strange little artifact. Watch it late at night when you're feeling a bit weird yourself.